Councils in Yorkshire and the Humber must prove that they are tackling the pothole “plague” or lose cash.
This comes as £1.6bn in government cash is being delivered to local authorities from next month to tackle the scourge of potholes across the country. To unlock the full investment, councils are required to publish details on how many potholes they have filled and the condition of roads in an annual report. Failing to do so will see 25% of the funding cut.
Forty-eight million pounds have been allocated to Yorkshire and the Humber, with this welcomed by Kirklees Council. In the 2023/24 financial year, the local authority spent £1.65m repairing 33,908 potholes, with a total of 42,923 potholes fixed in 2024.
Cllr Munir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways said: “We welcome the government’s announcement to invest an additional £1.6bn in local authorities specifically to repair potholes….
“…This additional investment will enable us to carry out more preventative treatments to help stop potholes from forming in the first place and where potholes do appear allow us to repair these quicker and more efficiently.”
Figures from the RAC show drivers encounter an average of six potholes per mile in England and Wales, and pothole damage to cars costs an average £600 to fix. According to the AA, fixing potholes is a priority for 96% of drivers.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The broken roads we inherited are not only risking lives but also cost working families, drivers and businesses hundreds – if not thousands of pounds – in avoidable vehicle repairs. Fixing the basic infrastructure this country relies on is central to delivering national renewal, improving living standards and securing Britain’s future through our Plan for Change.
“Not only are we investing an additional £4.8bn to deliver vital road schemes across the country to get Britain moving, next month we start handing councils a record £1.6bn to repair roads and fill millions of potholes across the country.
“British people are bored of seeing their politicians aimlessly pointing at potholes with no real plan to fix them. That ends with us. We’ve done our part and handed councils the cash and certainty they need – now it’s up to them to get on with the job, put that money to use and prove they’re delivering for their communities.”
The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, added: “After years of neglect, we’re unblocking Yorkshire and The Humber’s roads – fixing the plague of potholes, building vital roads and ensuring every penny is delivering results for the taxpayer.
“The public deserves to know how their councils are improving their local roads, which is why they will have to show progress or risk losing 25% of their £500m funding boost.
“Our Plan for Change is reversing a decade of decline and mending our pothole-ridden roads which damage cars and make pedestrians and cyclists less safe.”
